VALDOSTA, Ga. –  The No. 23 Valdosta State baseball team posted a doubleheader sweep of visiting Lee Saturday afternoon to take the season series.  VSU won the opener 17-3 and the nightcap 5-1 to improve to 20-9 on the year and 12-6 in Gulf South Conference play.
 
For the twin bill, graduate student Jakob Sessa was 3 for 5 with three runs scored, a double and a home run, while driving in three.  Graduate student Nick Gonzalez finished 4 for 7 with two runs scored, and one RBI.  Senior Bryson Gandy was 3 for 6 with three runs scored, one home run and six RBI.  VSU hit .385 for the day with 22 runs scored on 20 hits, two doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI.  The staff held Lee to a .224 average, after the Flames put up 17 hits in the opener Frida evening.  Lee had 11 hits in 49 at bats Saturday, scoring four runs with one home run and four RBI.  Sessa finished the series 6 of 10 from the dish with four runs scored, one double, one home run and three RBI to lead the team.  The Blazers hit .341 for the series, scoring 27 runs with 30 hits, four doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI. 
 
#23 VALDOSTA STATE, 17, LEE 3 (GAME ONE)
A two out single from Cam Suto and a stolen base put a runner in position for the Flames in the top of the first.  A walk followed for two on.  On a 3-2 count, Brandon Daniels fouled off a number of pitches, but Blazer senior hurler Kevin Tomas caught Daniels looking for the third out. 
 
A walk and a hit batsmen began the bottom of the first for the Blazers. Graduate student JP Gates laced a single through the right side for a 1-0 lead.  Graduate student Jakob Sessa doubled to the gap for a 2-0 lead and runners at second and third with nobody out.  Junior Jacob Harper hit a sacrifice fly to left for a 3-0 lead.  Senior Bryson Gandy blasted a two-run shot to right field and a 5-0 lead and his team-leading seventh home run of the season.  Following a walk, Lee went to the bullpen in favor of Grayson Linderman, replacing Sam Fulton.  Linderman got a strikeout to end the inning as all nine batters came to the plate for the Blazers in the inning.
 
With two out in the bottom of the second, VSU used two singles from graduate student JP Gates and Sessa and a walk to sophomore Jovanni Canegitta to load the bases.  On a 3-2 count to Harper, he drew the walk for an RBI and a 6-0 lead.  On a 1-2 count, Gandy singled through the left side, plating two runs for an 8-0 lead as Lee went to the bullpen once again.  On a 2-2 count, sophomore Connor Morgan singled home two runs for a 10-0 lead. 
 
Two walks a bunt single, error and two RBI single from Morgan put VSU up 13-0 with nobody out in the bottom of the fourth after Tomas had two, three-up-three-down innings in the third and fourth.  Lee went to the bullpen for the fifth pitcher of the game following Morgan's hit.  VSU loaded the bases with two away.  A sacrifice fly from Sessa made the score 14-0.  A RBI wild pitch and a two RBI double from Gandy made the score 17-0. 
 
Tomas continued to cruised through five innings as he retired the last ten-straight and extended that to 13-straight through six innings with nine strikeouts, two hits and two walks for the game to that point.  Redshirt freshman Tyler Spitzbarth came in to pitch the seventh for the Blazers.
 
A walk and a single began the seventh for the Flames.  A pair of RBI singles made the score 17-2 and a sacrifice fly made the score 17-3, but the run-rule game ended with a double play. 

VSU finished with a season-high 17 runs on 13 hits and one error, while Gates and Gandy each had three hits with Gates going 3 for 3 with three runs scored, a walk and one RBI.  Gandy went 3 for 3 with three runs scored, a home run and six RBI to earn Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game honors.  Tomas improved to 4-2 on the year.
 
#23 VALDOSTA STATE 5, LEE 1 (GAME TWO)
Lee began the nightcap with two singles, but a big double play got the first two outs for VSU and a fly out to center got the Blazers out of the inning.  VSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the first with one out.  On a 3-2 pitch to Harper, he drew a bases loaded walk for a 1-0 lead.  In the bottom of the second, Canegitta singled up the middle, plating Morgan for a 2-0 lead. 
 
Sessa began the bottom of the third with a solo home run to right field for his second round-tripper of the year and a 3-0 lead.
 
Lee's Dylan Standifer began the top of the fourth with a solo home run to left.  Blazer senior hurler Zach Henderson got out of the inning preventing further damage.  Junior David Crawford blasted his first home run of the season for a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
 
The Flames used two, two out singles in the top of the fifth.  A walk loaded the bases with two out.  A ground out to second ended the inning as Henderson got out of the jam unscathed.   Harper doubled home a run in the bottom of the fifth for a 5-1 score. 
 
Canegitta came up with the play of the series to end the game in the seventh as he turned a 63 double play to end the game. 
 
In the nightcap, the Blazers tallied five runs on seven hits, scoring a run in each of the first five innings, while Lee had one run on six hits.  Henderson went the distance, allowing six hits, one earned run, walked two and fanned three as he improved to 5-0 on the year.  Crawford was 2 for 4 with a run scored, a home run and one RBI, while Gonzalez was 2 for 3 with one RBI.  Harper was named Guardian Bank Blazer Player of the Game, going 1 for 2 with a double, two RBI and a walk. 
 
The Blazers are back in action on Tuesday as they continue their eight-game home stand with No. 2 Tampa visiting for a 5 p.m. first pitch.  West Alabama visits next weekend for a three-game series beginning Friday at 5 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.